Helping People's Fear of Flying

I enjoy spending some of my time helping peopel that have a fear of flying. Often on Twitter I see someone, a complete stranger, ask a question about flying because they are scared or just express an intense fear, and I reach out to them...I tell them to call me or email me and we teach them a thing or two to hopefully make them feel better.

When a friend of mine expresses the same concern, I do the exact opposite.

One friend is non-revving to Japan next month:

Quote:

---

Her: pretty sure its the biggest plane I've ever been on too
Derner, Phillip: what airline?
Her: Delta
Derner, Phillip: whoa....747-400! lucky ****
Her: im kinda scared lol. like, it holds more people then i know.. hah
Derner, Phillip: you should be, those are too heavy to fly. you probably wont make it off the runway. their takeoffs NEVER work out.
Her: :(
Derner, Phillip: go on google earth...you can look at jfk and see the pile of them at the end of the runway.
Her: shutup lol. IM SERIOUS HERE AND YOU'RE JUST ADDING TO MY ANXIETY

---

Aviation aside....

Quote:

---

Her: IM REALLY EXCITED BUT ALSO TERRIFIED and then theres also the earthquakes/ volcanos in Japan.
Derner, Phillip: you should be more worried about nuclear attack. japan's had more than any other country

---

I'm a great friend.

LMAO!!! Now that just brightened my morning a whole lot reading this!! Way to go Phil - you are an awesome friend!!!

Lmao you sir are a dick.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wunaladreamin

Lmao you sir are a dick.

---

That's part of his charm!

I used to absolutely terrified of flying...so I enjoy harrassing a few friends of mine who are super fearful of flying as well:

'Is the wing supposed to bounce like that???'

'NO...exit the plane immeadietly or failing that plead with a flight attendant to convince the pilot to land. They'll tell you its fine, but its a lie to save money.' (add link to some crash in 1960 or something where a wing came off for whatever reason)

Perhaps thankfully none of them take me too seriously anymore.

On a more serious note... Over the years, a number of people have told me that they are either afraid of, or just don't like flying. The common reason is usually because they lack "control" of what's going on when they are a passenger on a flight. The reason given mystifies me because so much happens on a daily basis outside of our control no matter how hard you try. Why should flying be considered different than, say, riding in a train or bus? Even though they are glued to the ground, you still can't always get up and get out whenever you want.

I don't attempt to convince them otherwise, but it's still interesting to hear the reasoning behind the fear.

A few years ago, a friend of mine was flying LAX-NRT on a Varig MD-11. When he was telling me about the trip, I was like "Oh....You're flying a Mega-Death Cruiser?" I then proceeded to explain to him how a lot of mechanics refer to the DC-10 as the "Death Cruiser" and the MD-11 as the "Mega Death Cruiser". My friend then got quiet and turned a few shades whiter after our conversation. I, too, can be a real pal in trying to ease the tension of flying for our non aviation enthusiast buddies.......................:cool:

I still get anxious at times, even though I am an enthusiast. But reminding myself that the odds of getting killed in my car are much higher usually does the trick.